There’s a growing focus on healthy dining and overall wellness in Hong Kong that looks set to intensify in 2021 and beyond. And we’re right on board with it! One place that’s embracing the trend is The Quayside. Kowloon East’s exciting harbourfront development is home to a number of restaurants that are delivering flavourful, healthy, well-thought out dietary options, including some great healthy lunch options for anyone working in the area. We speak to founders of two of them – Fete Up and Break.
FETE UP
Hongkonger Janet launched Fete Up along with two HK-based Singaporeans, Weikwan and William, back in 2017. We ask her about the new location at The Quayside, and find out more about the healthy lunch options and more on offer.
What’s the aim of Fete Up?
To provide healthy, balanced meals that are also tasty and affordable. We launched Fete Up after seeing that many people in Hong Kong had a very conventional perception of healthy food – for example, that it’s comes in very small portions, or doesn’t have much taste.
On the other hand, we also saw a huge demand for healthy eating-out options, especially with more and more people valuing their wellness. So, we aim to offer healthy, mouth-watering lunchboxes for gym lovers like us at reasonable price. Our co-founder and head chef William has served several Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore; one of the specialties he brings to Fete Up is the use of mixed herbs.
Our five-colour healthy lunchboxes are a golden combination of carbohydrate, protein and fats. The menu states the calories of each lunchbox in detail; this is ideal for gym lovers and encourages exercise lovers, office executives and even the general public to kick start a healthy lifestyle.
When did you first open and how many locations do you now have?
We opened in Sheung Wan (now relocated to Central, around LKF), then we went to Quarry Bay, and now we have our first store in Kowloon, at The Quayside.
Why The Quayside?
We see lots of the potential in this area as we can reach out to the new office executives here to extend our customer base. Also, The Quayside treasures wellness as much as we do. They organise events in the building that celebrate a healthy lifestyle; plus, there’s a podium garden with a jogging path and kinetic bikes, and a gym too. Anyone using these facilities will appreciate our lunchboxes, with their five colours of healthy vegetables and their detailed calorie information.
What can we expect from this outlet?
We offer exclusive breakfast and afternoon tea menus, as well as a Japanese-style menu. It’s also our only store providing homemade ground coffee. There are some new items at The Quayside that are exclusive to this store – for example, a chazuke dish with a choice of either chicken breast or salmon as the protein.
What are some popular items on the menu?
We love the Nasi Lemak, a traditional Malay dish that’s very popular in Singapore. Hong Kong restaurants rarely offer an authentic-tasting version of this dish; we’re very confident that the Fete Up version presents the traditional flavours in a healthy way. Another favourite is our homemade sous vide chicken breast; it’s popular among fitness fans and body-builders due to the combination of a low fat content and tender texture.
Any new and notable things for 2021?
We’ve organised two salad-making workshops with The Quayside lately and received positive feedback from the community. So, we’re looking forward to more collaborations to engage with customers.
We’ve also developed a BYOD ordering system. You can order your food wherever you are and pick it up when you reach the outlet; no need to queue, and, at the same time, you earn loyalty points with every dollar spent.
Finally, we’re developing some cook-at-home options so you can make our signature dishes at home with ease.
Fete Up
Shop 12-13, 2/F, The Quayside
feteup.com
BREAK
Break is a Western-Japanese fusion restaurant that promotes quality lunchtime meals and aims to surprise customers with new healthy menu options every week. We speak to co-founder Pauline.
Does the name Break have a special significance?
It has several meanings: “taking a break”; also “breakthrough” – and even “breaking the rules”, since thinking out of the box is part of our business model. Most importantly, many of our customers are nearby office executives, and we offer a relaxing moment for them to really enjoy their lunch “break”.
Why did you choose to open at The Quayside?
My co-founder and I were running our own restaurants in the same neighbourhood. When we decided to open a new restaurant together, he recommended The Quayside as the location. It’s an exciting spot, with thoughtful facilities and a focus on green and sustainable features; lots of large enterprises and international corporations are moving in.
Building a happier work environment is a new trend nowadays. The Quayside holds interesting, vibrant activities for office workers, while at Break we cultivate a happy work environment through food. Both of us are striving for the same goal of delivering a quality life; so it was a perfect fit of our new restaurant.
Give us an insight into the cuisine served at Break.
We mainly offer Japanese and Western cuisine, selecting seasonal food to maintain our high standards. We also provide daily special offers of seafood dishes, including salmon, tuna and more. And an afternoon tea menu is also available for office execs sneaking out for a break.
Coffee is one of our highlights. Our chief barista is a certified local coffee judge who sources and blends well-selected specialty beans from around the world and locally. His professional experiences and insights led Break to create its own style of specialty coffee.
What do you do differently to other restaurants?
Our menu changes weekly, with two to three new lunch sets on offer every time. This model means our chefs are constantly challenging themselves to come up with new ideas, while surprising our customers at the same time. It echoes the idea behind our name of breaking the rules. And I believe it contributes to the sustainability of our business in the long run, since it fosters interaction with our customers; this interaction, whether it’s online or in person, is something we cherish.
What are some popular items on the menu?
Our most popular dish is Nanban Chicken; we use homemade sauce to marinate the chicken, and only fry it on receiving an order to ensure the chicken is juicy with a crunchy surface. Try it with our avocado sauce and Korean sauce! Our OMN!Pork Mapo Rice is also very popular – especially among vegetarians.
We also offer a limited daily special menu that sells out quickly. An example is the 48-degree Slow-Cooked Norwegian Salmon Don. To ensure the salmon’s freshness, we creatively slow-cook the fish and only serve 20 to 25 dishes a day.
Any new and notable things for 2021?
We’ve recently launched Latte Art Workshops at The Quayside and received positive feedback from customers; we’ll be exploring the opportunity for more workshops in future. Stay tuned to our menu, too, as we always launch new dishes and seasonal and limited-edition items.
Break
Shop 13-14, 1/F, The Quayside
The Quayside is at 77 Hoi Bun Road, Kwun Tong.
thequayside.com.hk
For more healthy lunch options, recipe ideas and takeaway deals, see our Wine & Dine section!
